PEABODY Gazette-Bulletin

BREAKING NEWS

Peabody Public Works Director Darren Pickens resigned Wednesday, hours after Peabody City Council met in closed session to discuss personnel.
The council met in closed session for an hour Tuesday evening with Mayor Larry Larsen, interim City Administrator Mac Manning, and Police Chief Bruce Burke. No action was taken when the meeting returned to open session.

Residents are encouraged to take advantage of Peabody’s fall cleanup week to get rid of items they no longer want. Cleanup week began Monday and continues until Oct. 12.
“This is a service the city provides twice a year,” City Clerk Stephanie Ax said. “It is a chance for everyone to get rid of large bulky items or accumulations of things that no longer fill a need.”

The Peabody Community Food Bank, sponsored by the Peabody Association of Churches will be open from 10 a.m. to noon on Oct. 12.
Food will be distributed to those in need of assistance.

The seventh annual chili cook-off drew out about 180 attendees out to Marion County Lake to sample the diverse flavors of the 17 competitors who entered the contest.
As in years past, patrons who attended the event served as taste testing judges. After purchasing admission, patrons were given a bowl, a spoon, a napkin, and a silver bean with which they used to vote for the chili they enjoyed the most.

The Marion County Department on Aging wants to remind people that it is time to sign up or change their Medicare Part D plan for 2014.
Policy questions can be answered by calling Gayla Ratzlaff at (620)382-3580 or at any local pharmacy.

County commissioners disagreed Monday when deciding the importance of a retaining wall addition to property at 12 Lakeshore Drive on Pioneer Court.
“No matter what we do, it’s a problem,” Chairman Randy Dallke said.

Tallgrass Express String Band has played in the Marion County area since it started in 2004, and like many bands, its line-up has changed over the years.
Last October the band added the sonic talents of Marion mandolin player Jim Versch to their group and he is now contributing musical ideas to a new album they are recording.

Truman L. Slatten, 68, of Peabody died Friday at Peabody Care Center. He was born May 19, 1945, in Liberal to Frank and Wennona Lubbers Slatten.
He lived in Missouri for many years before moving to Peabody. He was a farmer, mechanic, and truck driver.

In addition to a new gift shop and multipurpose building suitable for all types of parties and get-togethers, this year Walters Pumpkin Patch has added a stationary wooden train with six cars and a new pedal car track.
“Carroll built the track to go through a tunnel house,” Becky Walters said. “It’s a small house on the track you can drive through.”

Like it or not, cooler weather is in the near future, and homeowners can do simple things to insure their home weathers the cold.
Tom Koslowsky, co-owner of Hillsboro True Value Hardware, said people need to start thinking about filling in cracks around windows and doors, and making sure exposed pipes cannot freeze.

With cooler weather, quickly approaching there are many things people need to do to maintain healthy lawns and plants for spring.
Jana Dalke owner of Serenity Gardens said the key to having a good garden or lawn come spring is proper winterization techniques.

I had a brand new experience this past Friday night. I went to Wichita with the Daughters to watch my son-in-law, What’s His Name, perform at a CD release party in a cozy and crowded eating and drinking establishment. I confess that initially I went because I thought I should. He is family, you know? Some things you just have to do.
However, he and his group put on a sensational show and I admit that I really did enjoy it. There were a number of other Peabody people in the house as well as friends from other communities. While I was probably one of the oldest in attendance, there were some others who looked like they might remember the Ronettes and Bobby Vee. There also were some patrons who likely do not even remember vinyl recordings. It was quite a mixed bag of ages and I was pleased at their enthusiasm for Shane Marler and his fellow musicians.

Saturday was a busy one for me, running between a volleyball tournament in Goessel and a chili cook-off at the county lake.
For the first time, I was at the cook-off without being there to cover it. After several years of thinking I should enter the contest, I finally did.

DAYS OF YORE:

Katherine Leigh Mergen and Christopher Charles Barlow married on July 13 at St. Mary Queen of the Universe Church in Salina. The ceremony was officiated by Father Kerry Ninemire.
The bride is a graduate of Fort Hays State University. She is a speech-language pathologist with Marion County Special Education Cooperative and works in Peabody and Goessel. Doug and Susan Mergen of Salina are her parents. Mary Mergen of Topeka and Alvin Witwer of Lenexa are her grandparents.

Marion County Senior Citizens Inc. will recognize six local artists during the group’s annual meeting Oct. 17 at Marion Senior Center. In addition to the artist recognition, there will be a musical performance by the Marion High School Singers, and Pat Wick will speak.
Twilla Baker

Danielle Cope and Adrian Baker married in an outdoor, double-ring ceremony June 15 at the home of the bride’s parents in Florence. The ceremony was officiated by Stan Seymour, pastor of First Christian Church in El Dorado.
The bride was given away by her father, Clint Cope.

Michael F. Powers of Marion has been reappointed as chief judge of the 8th Judicial District covering Marion, Dickinson, Morris, and Geary counties, Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton R. Nuss announced last week.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to continue serving as chief judge,” Powers said in a press release. “I appreciate having the confidence and support of the Supreme Court and the other judges and staff of the 8th District. They are dedicated public servants, and I am proud to work with them.”

WONSEVU:

BURNS NEWS:

HOPE IN THE HEARTLAND:

A trip to Centre Friday ended with the first loss of the season for the Peabody-Burns High School Warriors football team. PBHS was defeated 14-8. Now 3-1, the team will take on Hartford at home.
The Warrior’s Enrique Palazon kicked off to start the contest. Warrior special teams downed Cougars’ Dakota Stimpson at the 20-yard line. Stimpson and Kyle Methvin combined three rushes for a first down. On third-and-9 and the next set of 10, Methvin ran 49 yards for the score with 9:21 remaining in the first quarter. Methvin then hit Conner Montgomery for the conversion and an 8-0 Cougar lead.

Another windy day, this one with added heat, greeted the Peabody-Burns cross-country team Thursday at Halstead.
Jack Parks brought home a 16th-place medal out of 66 seventh-grade boys. The sixth-grader ran a personal best time of six minutes and 57.77 seconds.

The Lady Warriors traveled to Elyria Christian Oct. 1 and finished the night with a two-match victory.
The squad defeated Elyria Christian 25-17 and 25-18 and Solomon 21-25, 25-19, and 25-21.

Motocross racers buzzed in from out of state and all over the state of Kansas Sunday to compete in the 10th round of the Central Kansas Motocross Series at Green Acres Motocross Park in Marion.
Racers from the Marion County area who chased the checkered flag and placed in their respective classes were: